The Hill Street Country Club & Linksoul present the gallery of Joachim Castaneda and his collection, Sticks Versus Stones.



Castaneda is a multidisciplinary artist that makes mixed media assemblage works and paints applied expressionist canvases.  The work it self speaks about the abstraction of language and the perception of it’s messages that barrage every corner of society.  Using bold shapes and distinctly highlighting positive and negative spaces, he uses nuances found his works to blend the facts and truths.  Taking a cue from amateur sign paintings, ignorant (naïve) graffiti, and pre-Colombian textiles found through out Latin America, Castaneda creates a peculiar visual language to parallel a general visual language.


Q&A:

What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?

Listening to a lot of AM talk radio, lounge piano always sets a good pace for the day.


What are your biggest challenges to creating art and how do you deal with them?

Time, and turmoil are my friendly rivals.  I accept the fact that I do things the wrong way always and heave to keep pushing through.

How do you navigate the art world?

Discussions with my studio mates, going friend’s art shows and studios.

What mediums do you work with?

Reclaimed materials, paper, canvas, and anything that can be used to apply color, markings or texture.

How would you describe your subject matter?

Abstract icons used in a greater body of work to build a dialogue off of.

 

When people ask you what you “do”, how do you answer?

I’ve said I raise money for political campaigns before; a robot repairman is pretty impressive too.

Describe a childhood memory that has influenced your artwork?

Spending so much time in Chicano Park as a kid.  It was all the folklore, colors, combined with its grassroots foundation started a path for me.

Has there been a shift or change in your life or work that has led to what you’re making now?

It was until I moved to Spain in 2009 I stopped doing figurative art and started to make abstract paintings and expand on subconscious themes.

Do you see your work as autobiographical at all? 

As much as I want to say no, I believe inherently it is, and will be a cosmic account of my life and who I am. 

What is your personal message to your artwork and how does that connect to a communal and universal message?

To pay attention to nuance and forget about the flashy stuff.   My work talks to information and how abstract it has become and how ideas and beliefs are filters for truths and facts.



Do you intend your work to challenge the viewer?

No, its intent is to just “be” with the viewer

Is the creative impulse driven by a personal need to ease pain and/or satiate desire?

At times I have used it as therapy for emotional and mental distress, but ultimately my impulse is to relive the anxiety I feel to continuously show my self how much I exist

What three things never fail to bring you pleasure?

- Winning at anything

- Adding new plants to my apartment

- peeling paint off of almost anything

The Linksoul Lab gallery is located at 530 S. Coast Hwy, Oceanside, Calif. Admission is free. Hours are 11-4pm Monday through Friday.